Chapter 12: Bottoms Up!

	Koro walked along, his hands in his pockets, whistling. He
knew that adventures were sure to be coming up, and he would
actually take part in them. Before, he had just stood on the side.
Qure treated him not as some kid, but as a companion. A fellow warrior.
	Qure himself was deep in thought, and was quiet. Koro talked,
and led the conversation with a commment from the swordsman whenever
expected. He talked about battles probablt never fought, and enemies
brought to their knees that had never existed. But it didn't harm
anything, so he continued to spout out conquering and slaying.
	There was a slight wind, and it gave the travelers a coolness
that was accepted with greatful sighs. They walked on for hours, and
stopped briefly for lunch. As the day went on, Koro too grew silent.
He was thinking about all the knights he had read about, and wondered
if their adventures ever started out like this. They never included
the boring parts, he concluded. All they talked about was the fights
and problems.
	A crude path was evident ahead, so they started roughly following
it. The two were still thinking about private matters, and silent.
	After a few days of travel, they arrived at the edge of a town.
Koro cocked his head to study it.
	"So this is it."
	Qure nodded. "Yeah." He shielded his eyed from the sun. "Kolts.
Nice place. Too much fish in the food though." He chuckled to himself,
but Koro remained focused on the streets.
	He had a strange feeling. "Finally, he knew what seemed wrong.
"Why aren't there any people outside? Nobody on the street, talking, or
buying stuff, or... anything."
	"It's because of the Empire. They don't have any guards to speak
of. The main defense is to keep the town unknown, and lock themselves
in. They were momentarily at peace when Kefka died, but then they heard
of the New Empire, and reverted back to form."
	"Still feels... kinda' weird. Like I shouldn't be here. It might
be safer, but I don't like it." The boy shuddered, and rubbed his hands
together. "When do we leave?"
	Qure scanned the horizon for the familiar dock. "I would think
that we could go tomorrow. I'll go see about the ferry. Why don't you
go to the Inn?" Just tell the woman that Qure is with you."
	"Okay." Qure departed, and Koro read the battered signs. He
could barely make out a picture of a bed, and hoped that it stood for an
Inn. He went over to it, and looked in the cracked window. He couldn't
see anything, due to the coating of dirt that covered the glass.
	
-----

	He went in, and noticed several men hunched over a narrow counter,
mumbling words to glasses of beer. A plump woman sat behind them, reading
a newspaper. She stood when she saw Koro enter. A man looked in his
direction and mumbled something.
	"What do ya' want?"
	Koro hesitated. Was this the woman Qure had meant? "Uh... Qure is
with... me...?" She didn't appear to get the meaning.
	"And?" The boy stood frozen to the floor. "Is that supposed to mean
something? I don't know no Cur. Am I s'posed to?"
	He cleared his throat. "Um, his name is Qure. He said to tell the
you that he wa with me. Hmmmmm... are there any other women working here?"
	The woman snorted. "There's plenty of women. D'you expect me to
ask if they knows a guy named Queer?" Koro sighed.
	"Look, it's Qure. I guess I'll just have to wait here until he gets
back." He sat on a vacant stool. "I'll have something to drink. Have any
Mist?"
	A snicker rose up from the men, and the waitress sneered. "We're
fresh out."
	"Just fix me up something good." She bowed in mock courtesy, and
proceeded to mix various bottles, pouring the result into a grimy glass, and
pushed it in his general direction. He picked it up cautiously, and smelled
it. He wrinkled his nose. "This smells disgusting!"
	The woman shrugged. "It's all we got 'ere. But try it. Better than
it smells. Trust me, boy." Koro wasn't inclined to trust her, but he took
a sip. At first he couldn't taste anything. He winced, expecting to taste an
oncoming rush of something terrible, but didn't. He slowly opened his eyes.
	The waitress gave a toothless smile. "See? Isn't that bad. Pretty
nice, I'd say." Koro swallowed, then nodded. He smiled.
	Then it hit him. It had to be the worst tasting stuff he had ever
had in his mouth. It was like an explosion going off, complete with smoke
and fire. He gagged, and started coughing violently. His tongue was burning,
and his eyes were watering. He vomited on the floor. Koro's vision was going
hazy, and an incredible pain was building in his head.
	He could feel one of the men pounding him on the back, and hear the
waitress yelling. He crashed to the floor, and blacked out.